Thinking about a compact camera

[JoeFriday]

I sold my Oly Stylus Epic after procuring a Contax T.. the Oly took nice photos, but the Contax takes*great* photos.. finding a T in good working condition is the hard part, however

I had a Minox 35 PL, and it was a really fun little camera, too.. the Contax T is basically a duplicate of it.. if you can find a Minox that's reliable, definitely grab it.. it's like the Oly, but more fun

 

[John Henry]

What an excellent forum! Thanks for all the suggestions; researching the various cameras mentioned should keep me interested for awhile. As it turns out, a neighbor has a Rollei 35 that he offered for $150. There is the smallest sort of dimple at one corner, just a tiny thing. Otherwise the camera seems in very good shape. The back is labeled "Honeywell Rollei" and "Made In Germany By Rollei". Also includes leather case and uv filter with rubber lenshood. Actually, I've already purchased it and loaded up with a roll of Fuji Superia 100. BTW, the meter apparently uses the non-available mercury 1.35 cell and I don't know if it works or not, but that really doesn't matter much as the meter in my old Nikkormat hasn't worked for 20 years. JH

 

[FrankS]

Congrats on the Rollei, John! What lens is fitted to it, a Tessar or a Sonnar?

 

[richard_l]

BTW, the meter apparently uses the non-available mercury 1.35 cell and I don't know if it works or not, but that really doesn't matter much as the meter in my old Nikkormat hasn't worked for 20 years. JH

Congratulations, John! BTW, you can make it legal with the MR-9 battery adapter from http://www.criscam.com/. It takes a 386 silver battery and fits perfectly in the battery compartment. Some people feel uncomfortable with the scale focus. When I'm at f/8, f/11 or smaller aperture, I often just use hyperfocal distance, by setting infinity on the focus scale at 8, 11, or whatever on the DoF scale. I've never gotten an out of focus image with the Rollei.

 

[richard_l]

Congrats on the Rollei, John! What lens is fitted to it, a Tessar or a Sonnar?

The original German models all have the Tessar. The Sonnar began to be used some time after Rollei moved production to Singapore.

 

[KoNickon]

Great choice (and given that it's a German-made one, worth rather more than the Singapore ones). You'll be fine with the hyperfocal technique Richard mentions, though at wide apertures and short distances, you're bound to make some mistakes, unless you are a really good judge of distances. As for batteries, you can find 625 alkalines pretty regularly -- just remember to drop the film speed setting in half (e.g. 200 instead of 400). Alkalines don't give flat output over their life, unlike mercuries and silver cells, but for most purposes they'll do.

 

[Poptart]

I'm thinking about a number between 100 and 1000--anyone want a guess?